Scott Memorial Silver Vinaigrette, 1864

This lovely antique castle top silver vinaigrette is beautifully engraved to both the top cover and the underside.

Unusually for castle-tops, the scene depicting the Scott Memorial is on the underside of the box, whereas the front cover is attractively decorated with floral scrolls around a gartered, vacant cartouche. The interior of the box is gilt and has a pierced and engraved floral scroll hinged grille. Made by the Birmingham silversmith Frederick Marsden, this vinaigrette remains in excellent condition.    

Sir Walter Scott (1771 – 1832) is probably the most well known Scottish author, penning such works as Ivanhoe, Lady of the Lake, Kenilworth, Rob Roy, Waverley and The Heart of Midlothian. He was one of the most popular novelists and poets of the 19^th Century. After Scott’s death in 1832, his home city of Edinburgh organised a competition for designing a monument to his memory. The winning Gothic influenced design came from George Meikle Kemp and the 200 feet tall tower was sited in Princes Street Gardens. The Scott Memorial became a point of pilgrimage for his many fans, following it’s completion in 1844.